When most of the country — even the citizens of the notoriously muggy Mumbai— are bringing out their woollens and grappling with winter, grabbing a bottle of a cold juice is quite possibly the last thing on one's mind.

Considering the burst of cola advertising around summer, it may not be the right time for a campaign either. But it is precisely this conventional logic that has been turned on its head as the leading juice brand Maaza launches, for the second time in a row, a new brand campaign in the wintry month of January.

"It is a well-thought decision, and is aimed at establishing the all season proposition of the brand, increasing consumption all year long", explains Ajay Bathija, general manager - consumer marketing & commercial leadership, juice business, Coca-Cola India. It is a wellestablished fact that mango consumption is a national phenomenon.

Against that backdrop, Maaza has managed to create a niche for itself over the last few years with a market share of 37% in the juice segment as per independent industry estimates. The other players with a sizable share include Slice at 22% and Frooti at 13%. In the 2012 edition of Brand Equity's Most Trusted Brands, Maaza was the only beverage brand in the Top 10, even ahead of the more aggressively marketed colas. The overall marketing mix seems to be working well for Maaza, which has been around since 1976 and been a part of the Coca-Cola family since 1993.

The current campaign has been conceptualised by Leo Burnett, the brand's creative agency. According to K V Sridhar, chief creative officer- Indian subcontinent, Leo Burnett, "With this new campaign, we are scaling up the brand's philosophy and bringing in the element of love to add an interesting yet refreshing twist to the brand's promise of 'Har Mausam Aam' (HMA)."

The campaign takes forward last year's 'Har Mausam Aam' premise to make it 'Har Mausam Love, Har Mausam Aam' and has the popular Bollywood stars Imran Khan and Parineeti Chopra as the new faces for the brand. Set in winter, the film portrays Parineeti as a mangocrazy young girl who has many boys in the neighbourhood crazy about her. In a modern day 'swayamwar' like situation, she announces that he who gets mangoes — in the off-season will be the chosen one. Accordingly, while the average johnnies set off to look for the elusive fruit, the smart-aleck Imran manages to win her over by offering her the all-season mango delight in a bottle — Maaza. This campaign marks the first time that the brand has gone in for two big-ticket celebrities.

Elaborating on the brand fit of the two faces, Sridhar adds, "Both Imran and Parineeti are young achievers with a refreshing new outlook to the world. They epitomise the young India — they are go-getters, energetic, sure of themselves and wanting to make a difference." The association is also being looked at as helping strengthen the brand's appeal amongst the youth.

As per Renton D'Sousa, CEO & NCD, Triton, "The strategic thought that there is no season for mangoes is consistent and bang-on. Getting the two celebrities on board makes the brand more contemporary and relevant to a younger target." However he feels that a lot more could have been achieved given the performance capabilities of the two stars, since the formula of 4-5 roadside Romeos and one girl by itself is a run-of-themill slapstick.

Alongside the high-decibel TV campaign, the other components of the brand campaign include out-of-home and on-ground initiatives as well as point of sale activation across key markets. The brand is also looking to leverage digital in a big way for the first time. Adds Bathija, "The brand is betting and investing big-time on the festivals to increase the occasions of consumption". For instance, recently for the first time the brand launched a separate campaign for the southern market around Pongal (in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka). The HMA proposition is very versatile and one that can be rendered across platforms as well as occasions, views Bathija.

Opines Seema Gupta, assistant professor (marketing), Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, "The ad has stuck to the core benefit of real mango, and uses star power in a discretionary and largely low-involvement category." However in terms of treatment, while the ad builds a climax by posing a challenge, and hence builds anticipation of an interesting storyline unfolding, the end is a tad disappointing, she feels.